Sony shows off PlayStation 3D and its motion controller

Sony has lifted the lid on the games it hopes to release over the next 12 months, with 3D a key aspect of the new range.

At a press briefing at the E3 games expo, Sony outlined its plans for PlayStation 3 and its PSP handheld.

Sony said a recent software update had made all 35 million PlayStations sold 3D-ready.

The firm also announced details for its new motion controller, PlayStation Move.

3D titles

The centrepiece of the launch was a demo from the upcoming Killzone 3, which Sony described as a “technological showpiece”. The fast-paced 3D action shooter was displayed on a giant screen.

Kazuo Hirai, Sony Computer Entertainments chairman, said the combination of 3D gaming and its new motion controller would result in “the closest thing you will ever experience to being in the game yourself.”

Attendees at the Sony media briefing had to wear 3D glasses.

“What Avatar did for 3D movies, titles like Killzone 3 will do for games,” he said.

3D has been one of E3’s most talked-about technologies. While Sony’s games require users to wear 3D glasses, Nintendo has announced that it revamped 3D DS handheld will not.

Sony also announced a slew of forthcoming 3D titles for the PlayStation 3, including Grand Turismo 5, Crysis 2, and Ghost Recon, in addition to re-mastering of some old classics, such as Wipeout 3D.

Harsh critic

The other big announcement was about Sony’s new motion controller, PlayStation Move, which is to be released in Europe on 15 September for 40 euros (£33).

16 dedicated titles will also go on sale the day of launch, with another 40 slated to go into retail in the months leading up to Christmas.

Sony announced more details about its motion controller

But the real surprise of the event was at the end, when Valve announced that it was to release Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3.

To gasps from the audience, Valve’s co-founder, Gabe Newell, walked onto the stage and said that Sony had “proved that the PlayStation 3 is the most open platform of all the current generation consoles and has worked extremely hard to make the platform the most desirable for consumers and developers”.

Three years ago, Newell was one of Sony’s harshest critics. In an interview with Game Informer at the time, he said that the PlayStation 3 was a “total disaster” and predicted Nintendo would win the next-generation console war.

“I was one of the platform’s biggest critics,” said Mr Newell. “Now, I am delighted to announce Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3 and believe the Steamworks support included will make it the best console version of the game.”